If you're keeping score, that's 1 for Joba in pen  —  News flash: New Yorkers can be brusque, impolite and sometimes even rude.  Joba Chamberlain reporting.  Film at 11.  —  Thanks, Joba, for restating the obvious for those of us who can be honest about ourselves.

Open for business  —  Behind Beckett, workmanlike Sox get the job done  —  Nothing makes the chilly temperature rise like an Opening Day win, and with it a pristine record that evokes idyllic hopes of 162-0.  It came yesterday, a near-perfect performance in the Red Sox' second stab at game No. 1 …

Friendly Rivalry for Matsui  —  BALTIMORE - In their final year as teammates, in 2002, Hideki Matsui and Koji Uehara reached the pinnacle of individual and team success for the Yomiuri Giants.  Matsui was the most valuable player of the Central League, Uehara won the Sawamura Award as the top pitcher …

Triple-A notes: Tomko as closer, Jackson hitting sixth  —  Just to triple check, I sent Dan Giese another text message this afternoon.  —  “Heard anything yet on waivers?”  —  “Not yet”  —  Some other notes from today's Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees media day...  Brett Tomko will be the Triple-A closer

It won't be around much longer  —  They're started dismantling the old Yankee Stadium, stripping out the grass and now they're taking down the outfield walls.  This part of the wall had very little wear and tear as Bobby Abreu rarely touched it.  —  They also knocked part of a wall on 161st St …

Skeptics' heat is on Sabathia … BALTIMORE - The Yankees insist CC Sabathia is healthy, but the heating pad, a dip in velocity and his awful results on Opening Day are causing some knowledgeable baseball observers to wonder what was happening when the lefty got rocked by the Orioles.

For Mets' offense, win is only cold comfort  —  CINCINNATI - With temperatures in the high 30s, and a steady rain falling at Great American Ball Park, the Mets were forced to take batting practice indoors before Monday's season opener against the Reds.  After seven weeks in the balmy climate …

Gaudin Weighs Options  —  Chad Gaudin cleared waivers, which means the Chicago Cubs have to pay his $2 million salary.  —  Now the bargain hunters can check in, and the Rockies are among teams that have contacted agent Larry Reynolds.  —  The Rockies would like to sign Gaudin to a minor-league contract …

Chacin signs with Phillies  —  Gustavo Chacin, the former 13-game winner the Washington Nationals signed to a minor league deal this spring, has been released by the team, acting general manager Mike Rizzo said Tuesday.  —  The left-hander signed a minor league deal with the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday.

Welcome to my blog on MASNsports.com!  —  Thanks to MASN and CAA, I'm going to be doing something that, to be honest with you... I've never done before.  —  This is going to be new to me, and I hope I can help a lot of you understand the game a little better and what we go through during spring training and the regular season.

Angels don't use strengths to their advantage in 6-4 loss to Oakland  —  They get a quality start from fill-in pitcher Dustin Moseley but leave too many runners stranded in the early going.  —  Dustin Moseley gave the Angels everything they could want from their rotation fill-ins …

Gary Matthews Jr. still isn't talking  —  The Angels outfielder was linked to HGH shipments in the Mitchell Report, but he won't comment on the allegations these days.  —  T.J. Simers  —  I worry about kids and dogs, some kid maybe mistaking it for an energy drink, or some dog lapping …

Jim Thome's 8th-inning HR lifts White Sox over KC 4-2  —  CHICAGO — Jim Thome got to totally enjoy this opening-day home run.  —  Thome hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning, rallying the Chicago White Sox past the Kansas City Royals 4-2 Tuesday in a season opener delayed a day because of bad weather.